If there were any questions about where Jonathan Kuminga stands in his restricted free agency saga with the Warriors, his latest social media post might be telling.
Kuminga shared a photo of himself and his agent, Aaron Turner, to his Instagram story Wednesday with the caption, “I’ll bet on myself all day” and the hashtag #JustKnow.
Turner also has been active on socials, engaging with fan speculation on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. On Tuesday evening, Turner stepped into a thread between two fans debating Kuminga’s talent. One user asked the other to name four things Kuminga “statistically does above league average.”
“You [want to] play that game?” Turner responded.
The situation has dragged more than a month into free agency, and a resolution doesn’t seem close.
The Kings and Phoenix Suns have been the most aggressive in their pursuit of the 22-year-old forward, per multiple reports, but the Warriors haven’t been moved by any offers from either team.
On the flip side, Kuminga turned down Golden State’s most recent two-year, $45 million contract offer, ESPN’s Shams Charania and Anthony Slater reported Wednesday, citing sources. They added, citing sources, that part of the reason was that accepting the offer gives too much control to a team he believes has “stunted and strung his career along” for four seasons since they selected him No. 7 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Kuminga never has had a stable and consistent role in coach Steve Kerr’s rotation, and his usage — or lack thereof — raised eyebrows when the young forward recorded multiple DNP-CDs (Did Not Play – Coach’s Decision) toward the end of the regular season and into the postseason.
That changed when Steph Curry was sidelined with an injury during Golden State’s second-round playoff series with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Kerr turned to Kuminga for help. Kuminga averaged 20.8 points on 54.3-percent shooting from the field and 42.1 percent from 3-point range, with 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 27.4 minutes through five games.
He bet on himself then and it worked, and it’s no different now during a potentially career-changing period of his life.
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